California Literature (Barraza)

Spring 2010 On The Road Essay Questions

Directions: Choose only one of the following essay prompts; although some of the questions are open to contemporary applications, make sure to refer to the core text at least four times in your paper in an authentic fashion.  Using the MLA guidelines for both format and the proper citing of sources, your paper must be at least 3 pages. Papers must not exceed 5 pages.  Make sure your controlling idea is clear and well constructed, as it should drive your paper’s intent.  The paper is due next Friday, March 12^th.  The book is expected to be completed by Monday, March 8^th.

1.     At the beginning of the novel, Sal Paradise admits to having ambivalent feelings about Dean, at first thinking him to be a little too tough, a real street kid. Later, his feelings toward his friend change, though still mixed, as he calls him an "idiot," and an "imbecile," but also a "saint," and finally "the HOLY GOOF." Do you think Sal's opinion about Dean's character and intelligence is ever completely resolved? Why? Why not?

2.     At the end of every adventure with Dean, Paradise returns home to his aunt, in Paterson, New Jersey. Is Kerouac's novel a convincing demonstration that mainstream middle-and-working-class values are inherently incompatible with the Beat lifestyle and philosophy of the road?

3.     Whenever Sal and Dean have the chance to hear music, they choose jazz. What explains the dedication these characters have for this sophisticated African-American urban art form? What does Kerouac believe the jazz musician represents?

4.     Some critics have claimed that the world Kerouac depicts in On the Road glorifies the deeds of uneducated, criminal young men leading irresponsible lives, committing sacrilegious acts. Given today's low tolerance for youthful rebellion, particularly drug use, do you find the behavior of Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise repugnant and totally inappropriate? Do you think Kerouac is approving or critical of his characters' behavior?

5.     Why do you think On the Road, after more than fifty years since its original publication, still maintains a magnetic hold on American youth culture? Is the novel's significance to your generation different from its significance to younger and to older generations? How has the meaning of On the Road changed for you since your first encounter with it?

6.     In 1954 Jack Kerouac had a vision in a Catholic church in Lowell, Massachusetts, that told him that the real meaning of "Beat" was "Beatific," in the sense of converting alienation into spiritual transcendence. Fictionalized as Dean Moriarty, Kerouac saw his friend Neal Cassady as an "archetypal American Man," and rendered his character both "Beatific," in the sense mentioned above, and "Beat," in the sense of being alienated from the mainstream of American middle-class life. In this novel of life on the road, experience for Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise, Kerouac's fictional alter ego, who shambles along after Dean's madcap adventures, must be intensified to strip one's rational preoccupations with this world and give them a sense of oneness with the All-Knowing God. It is a search for the ever elusive "IT," "the moment when you know all and everything is decided forever."  However, does Sal ever reach this point in the novel? What becomes of his visions that are developed along his journey of self discovery?

7.     The Sanskrit word “dharma” can loosely be translated as “that which binds together.”  It is often viewed as the “cosmic bond” that keeps the universe in motion.  It is the upmost truth or greater purpose that each of us is connected to individually as we pursue our path during this lifetime.  This idea is illustrated in Kerouac’s works, particularly in The Dharma Bums and On The Road, as we follow the characters Ray Smith and Sal Paradise in their pursuit of their individual “dharma.”  Through their journeys, we witness their personal discoveries of this truth through their experiences with various people and places.  Like Kerouac, we are all also on our own journeys in pursuit of our personal “truth.” In this reflective response, explain how Kerouac’s pursuit of “the dharma” parallels your own.  Who are some of the “dharma bums” or “people of significance or wisdom” that have inspired you?  What have they taught you? What are some of the lessons that you have learned thus far that will guide you on your path?  What is your “dharma”?  Make sure to make direct connections to the text.  You must use at least FOUR of Kerouac’s experiences to compare / contrast to your own.  This response is a time to both personally reflect AND demonstrate that you have clarity of the text.  Thus, there should be an even balance of both. 

8.     Write a compare and contrast essay using Kerouac’s On The Road and another quest novel, such as Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley, or Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.

9.     Write an analysis of Kerouac’s style, considering his use of narrative, imagery, other forms of figurative language, various forms of syntax, satire, humor, etc.

Write a thorough discussion of both the “main-stream” and “counter culture” of our time, providing specific examples from different disciplines such as media, popular culture (film, music, art), politics, etc., discussing their various impacts on our society, and comparing your findings with the ways Kerouac conveys both of these polarities in his novel.